My Notes from Today

Day 2 was a little bit of a struggle. I felt really good about seeing a loss already. I had several moments of weakness. For example, one of the kids had left an open pouch of skittles on the kitchen counter. Without even taking a second thought I grabbed a skittle and begin to put it in my mouth. Just as it hit my tongue and I got a quick zing of sweetness I remembered I’m not eating sugar! … Continue Reading

How long does it take to change? In some cases, I think you can change in an instant. Some addicts have been able to kick habits cold turkey. I really do feel like it is possible to change any time you decide to. That is a pretty intense concept, but, the truth is this is very rare. Humans are creatures of habit.

I learned once that our brains are designed to be programmed to operate on auto-pilot whenever possible. Habits are essential our brain on autopilot so we can focus on other things or conserve energy. … Continue Reading

One week down and a lifetime to go. It was a slower start than I hoped for but I’m not going to dwell on my shortcomings. The fact of the matter is I made changes to my eating habits and exercised more than I have been doing and the results show it. I can’t expect to eat perfect and run a 5K every day. Baby steps.

Last week I started the journey weighing 234.8 lbs. Today I weigh 230 lbs!

This week I need to lose 5 lbs to make my goal. If I had to, I could do … Continue Reading

I should have hit this point 10-15 lbs ago. Better late than never. After successfully dropping 30 lbs in 2010 I maintained the loss and even lost another 5lbs during 2011. I was as low as 212.6 in 2011. I thought I had my weight under control and that I would never let it get out of hand again. I really did maintain for 11 months! Well, then I guess I got a little too confident.

One major rule of weight loss is calories in needs to be less than calories out. I have attempted many times to count calories and keep diet journals. It isn’t an easy task. I am a fan of anything that might make that task easier. I decided this week to try out one of the many smartphone apps for tracking calories.

The app I chose to try is the Calorie Counter by FatSecret. The app has you create an account and enter your stats (gender, … Continue Reading

I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Larry McCleary about his book, Feed Your Brain Lose Your Belly. It was very interesting and I learned a lot. My main take away was that weight loss requires a strong and healthy mind so it is important to make sure your brain (as well as the rest of your body) is getting the proper nutrition it needs and you will be that much more likely to succeed in weight loss.

Josh’s audio gets quiet in some parts and I should have tried to fix that in post production. Here is the basics of what I learned. Focus on weight training and diet. The best weight loss diet would consist of lean protein, healthy carbs such as beans and vegetables and healthy fats like olive oil and nuts. It really shouldn’t be rocket science. Put the work in: lift weights 2-3x … Continue Reading

Meet Micah

I am a software engineer on a quest to find the best way to lose weight. Come join me!